One of the very first albums I ever owned. It was a gift. Saw the film at the theatre in 1968 as a kid and was stunned. Still am to this day whenever I see it.

The Ligeti soundtrack was unconventional and perfect. Apparently Ligeti was stunned Kubrick wanted to use his music. He thought no one knew of him.

I think listening to Ligeti now is interesting because his music does sit in the greater context of 20C classical music, however at the time it seemed like it came from another planet, thus appropriate for 2001 :)

I think listening to Ligeti now is interesting because his music does sit in the greater context of 20C classical music, however at the time it seemed like it came from another planet, thus appropriate for 2001 :)

Very true. That particular period in time was seeing the winding down of the 60's and psychedelic music was mellowing out into yet another form. Classical was starving for some new interpretation and Stanley threw this out into the mainstream You really could not help but give it an in depth listen. This was a new animal altogether and really begged you to listen to the composer outside of the context of 2001. It was that album that I credit with piquing my interest in classical and avant garde music which saved me from the 70's hell that was disco:)

Just can't stay away from this. Recently warmed up to the song "Roll On John", a song about John Lennon. Never gave half a damn about him, but this song almost makes me.

Tin Angel, Pay in Blood, Narrow Way, and Duquesne Whistle are all also great. The standout song is of course the title track, a 14 minute song about the Titanic, consisting of 45 verses. I particularly like this verse:

Quote:

The bishop left his cabin
To help all those in need
Turned his eyes up to the heavens
Said, "The poor are yours to feed"

The album is kind of interesting, coming from his earlier work. There are a lot more depictions of death in his songs. Not that I'd expect a song about the Titanic to omit death, but it's sort of weird to hear him sing about dead bodies floating around, broken backs and broken necks, and gushing wounds.